FERGIE the rocking horse needs a new stable before Christmas and a little girl's bedroom would suit him just fine.

And whoever buys him will be helping the Countess of Chester Hospital's Breast Care Appeal reach its target of £1m.

Vince Holleron, of Woodland Road, Whitby, a member of the Rocking Horse Makers Guild, spent six painstaking weeks lovingly fashioning Fergie from beech and other hard woods.

And he says the dappled little pony comes complete with a signed plaque from his namesake Sir Alex Ferguson, the Manchester United supremo.

He said: 'Fergie started life as a tree trunk. It took me six weeks to carve him and paint him with seven layers of paint and lacquer. His saddle is real leather and all the fittings are brass. My wife hand-wrote the plaque and we sent it off to Manchester United where Sir Alex kindly signed it.

'Now Fergie is going up for auction on the Internet, hopefully on Manchester United's website. Every penny will be going to the Countess' Breast Care Appeal. But he won't be sold cheaply, we are putting a reserve of £1,500 on him and hopefully he will make much more than that.'

The Countess of Chester's fundraising manager, Janet Ratcliffe, said: 'We are very grateful to Vince for donating Fergie to the appeal. He really is a fantastic piece of top quality carving. Any child would be proud to own him and I hope we find him a really good home.'